Movie Reviews

REMEMBER - REFLECT - RESPOND

Mike King | Taunton, MA United States | 07/07/2003

(5 out of 5 stars)

"REMEMBER: This DVD pulls no punches in its graphic depiction of the horrors of 9/11. It shows raw footage of first one, then another plane crashing into the World Trade Center towers. It includes footage taken from an NYPD helicopter that circled the tower but was unable to land on the roof. A man is shown waving a towel from one of the open windows on a very high floor, but there was nothing they could do to rescue him. It has disturbing footage of people jumping to their deaths, as then mayor Rudolph Guiliani and others watch in horror. It shows the first tower collapsing as the person filming it keeps yelling, "Oh my God, oh my God, oh my God!" It shows the next tower collapsing and the huge cloud of smoke and debris speeding down the street as people run for their lives. The aftermath of the attacks is also included, showing the streets and people covered with soot and choking for air.

REFLECT: The courage of the police, the firefighters, and all emergency workers shines through the dark smoke and rubble, as they rush to the scene to try and save as many lives as they can. The strength of mayor Guiliani and his staff, as they try to restore order to the chaos, is remarkable. The grief and sadness while watching a succession of funerals is heartbreaking. Watching this DVD documentary stirs up many strong emotions, as the wounds from those events have not fully healed.

RESPOND: We can't forget the unjustified terrorist attacks that occurred on American soil on that fateful day. We can respond by donating time and money to September 11 charitable foundations to help America recover from these vicious terrorist attacks. Net proceeds from the sale of this DVD are donated to the Twin Towers fund. More importantly, we can respond by remaining strong and ever vigilant to ensure that these horrors are never repeated."

Poignant, Stirring Reminder

Bluesy200 | USA | 10/07/2003

(5 out of 5 stars)

"I was stunned after seeing this HBO special. The first half is shocking: never-before-seen stills and videos, agonizingly real, disturbing. The second half reminds us that 3047 people from 83 countries were savagely murdered, leaving behind 3251 children who lost a parent.

Yes, I was moved to tears. The cameras and video recorders were there, quietly filming planes flying into buildings, people jumping to their deaths, family members mourning. So painful to watch, yet required viewing for anyone who is starting to forget about what happened September 11, 2001.

All I could think of was the beast who planned this mass murder, and how he gloated and laughed about it afterwards. And the countries who were responsible for funding it...

"

An unflinching record for posterity

Mike King | 09/04/2002

(5 out of 5 stars)

"If you are looking for a straightforward, non-politicized record of the attacks on America on September 11, 2001, this is the DVD to buy. It combines video footage from many different news organizations and ordinary citizens with interviews of Mayor Giuliani and many of his staff to present an unflinching, uncensored record of that terrible day. If you saw this when HBO originally aired it (I did not), you know that some of the images are disturbing. This program does not apologize for the graphic nature of many of the images, and I do not believe it should. Mayor Giuliani says it best in the program, but I will dare to paraphrase him here: We have to cry, and we will cry, but our tears will remind us of what happened that day and build in us the resolve to do everything we can to ensure that nothing like this ever happens again. If you want some permanent record of this tragic event of our history so that our posterity can see it as well, buy this DVD. It is painful to watch. You will weep. But we must all remember, and this program will help us all do that."

Review from a Dutch Viewer.

Mike King | 09/06/2002

(5 out of 5 stars)

"I was looking for a DVD that contains historic footage and stories of the events that took place in NY on 9/11/01. Well, I must say that this DVD really leaps you back in time; back to the moments that the plains hit (different cameraviews); back to the moments of the collapse, the panic, the anger, the rescueworkers and all the emotions that come up when you experience such a horrific event. Tears came out, when I put myself in place of the people crying at the funerals of their loved-ones. The editing of this DVD is brilliantly done, you really experience the feeling of being in the lobby of the WTC 1 building a few moments before the collapse, the music is sad and low profile. For younger viewers I think this DVD is not appropriate. You see images of people jumping out of buildings, and the grief is heartbreaking. I cannot imagine a DVD covering these events better as this one."

AN EMOTIONAL, RIVETING HISTORICAL DOCUMENT

Bluesy200 | 03/07/2003

(5 out of 5 stars)

"WOW!! It made me cry, again. AS an NYPD officer that horrible day I had the misfortune to hear and feel the first plane hit and to actually see the second plane hit. I lost two NYPD buddies and my wife's brother, all good men. At the very least, this DVD allowed me to see what others experienced that day. Be forwarned that it does not ignore the harsh realities (a person falling from a tower, another person who fell after they hit the street (shown from a distance, perhaps if I wasn't a cop I wouldn't even have realized what we were looking at)) SIMPLY OUTSTANDING!! I will show this to my two toddlers, many years from now, so that they might comprehend why we lost "Uncle Jimmy"."